5 of the Best Rock Songs Turning 50 This Year

We’re not saying that 1976 was the definitively best year of all time for rock ‘n’ roll. But if you were to tune in to any random classic rock radio station at this very moment, there is a high statistical probability that the station will be playing something from this particular year, five decades later. Simply put, 1976 was a great, great year.

To celebrate one of the most prolific years in classic rock history, we’re revisiting five of the best rock singles from 1976 in honor of their 50th birthdays.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen

Queen technically released “Bohemian Rhapsody” on A Night At The Opera in 1975. But because it didn’t hit the top of the charts until the following year, we’re including this classic rock track in our round-up of songs turning 50 just the same. And besides, why would anyone volunteer to exclude such an iconic track? Many rock bands have tried to recreate the theatrical chaos Freddie Mercury and the rest of Queen produced in this six-minute suite. Few have lived up to the original.

“Rhiannon” by Fleetwood Mac

Stevie Nicks came out swinging when she first joined Fleetwood Mac in 1975. The band’s first album with Nicks and her partner, Lindsey Buckingham, featured “Rhiannon”, which remains a fan-favorite Fleetwood Mac song to this day. This ethereal, witchy song seemed to be as much about Nicks as the Welsh goddess who actually inspired her to write it. By the end of 1976, it was impossible to go about your daily life without catching a whisper of “Rhiannon”.

“Take The Money And Run” by Steve Miller Band

Steve Miller Band’s 1976 hit, “Take The Money And Run”, is the quintessential classic rock song. There’s a criminally tinged narrative. There’s a clapping section. Miller even makes an old jalopy sound at one point, though the jury’s out on whether he was going for “jalopy” when singing “ooh, Lord.” In any case, this 1976 rock song is a classic and remains synonymous with Steve Miller Band’s legacy. Really, the entirety of Fly Like An Eagle is an excellent time capsule of 76.

“Show Me The Way” by Peter Frampton

1976 was a big year for Peter Frampton (and a big year for the vocoder), thanks to the release of his double live album, Frampton Comes Alive! A live-performance version of “Show Me The Way” was featured on the double album and became a career-defining hit, breaking into the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Other songs that became more famous for their live version than the studio one include “Baby, I Love Your Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do”.

“Dream On” by Aerosmith

When Aerosmith first released “Dream On” on their eponymous debut in 1973, the song enjoyed moderate success. But at a humble No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was hardly a grand slam. A longer album version of the song was reissued in 1975, and it became a Top 10 hit the following year. Even with fourteen albums under their belt since, Aerosmith’s musical legacy is inextricably linked to this monster power ballad. Even fifty years later, the song’s hopefulness, power, and melancholy undertones feel just as moving.

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